The important shift from pathology to neurodiversity

As our understanding of the human brain and body continues to grow, I am encouraged to witness a subtle shift away from a tendency to pathologize, or try to find something wrong with those whose ways of being differs from the ‘cultural norm’ into a recognition there is a broad spectrum of neurodiversity.

What I loosely describe in layman’s terms as, ‘We’re all wired a bit differently and that’s okay.’

As a self-identifying highly sensitive person and empath, I’ve navigated a world in which the majority of people don’t process experiences like I do. That doesn’t make me special, but it has in the past had me feeling isolated and misunderstood.

It was such a relief to realize about 25% of all human beings also have a brain and nervous system more responsive or ‘sensitive’ to stimuli.

Intersecting with the world as a sensitive person can be both challenging and incredibly beautiful. Honestly, I’m so glad I was born this way, to be able to feel, process and sense so much more.

This morning, as a result of several synchronicities, I felt called to research high functioning autism, which was formerly termed Asperger's syndrome. My brother was diagnosed on the autism spectrum as a child and I wanted to continue to understand him better.